AuthorTopic: Javascript VERY slow in Firefox (Read 6818 times)

Hi there: I just installed Vector Linux Standard Gold as a second boot option on Debian Linux. I forget whether Firefox came with the package or whether I used slapt-get to install it. Anyway, the version was 3.0.something-or-other. I noticed that loading my home page, (Google search), was extremely slow, and while Google was loading my computer was unresponsive to the point where I couldn't even close Firefox or change the focus to other apps. I installed NoScript and, as I suspected, the culprit seemed to be Javascript, because with scripts disabled Google loads instantly. I tried to upgrade FF but a Freetype dependency wasn't met, so I added 'Testing' to my repository list, did an update, then did a complete system upgrade to the current "Testing" version of VL. I then upgraded Firefox to version 3.6.8, and experienced the same problem loading Google. So based on a search for similar problems I tried re-naming xorg.conf, (temporarily breaking my dual-monitor capability). and re-booting. The problem still exists. I've tried a few other sites that use Javascript and they seem to be OK; so far it's only Google that causes a problem.

Miscellaneous info:- VL is installed on its own partition, with its own home - there's no overlap with the Debian install- When I boot into Debian, Firefox loads Google with no delay- Google also loads fine in FF on my Win2K box- The problem occurs whether I'm using XFCE, LXDE, or Openbox

Any advice on how to fix this? Is there any way to force a Javascript version change? Should I be looking at udgrading or downgrading some other system component? Is there a config file I need to change, or an option in Firefox's 'about:config' settings that I need to modify?

Thanks for the suggestion, retired1af. I already have AdBlock Plus installed and enabled, and the problem still exists. I've also tried enabling and disabling the few add-ons I currently have installed, to no effect. And, when I first noticed the problem there were no add-ons or plug-ins installed except whatever came with FF by default.

Additional info:- I've now tried disabling ALL plugins and addons, with no success- The problem may have to do with a specific Javascript command, something to do with fading. I say this because Google's main search page now uses an ugly and pointless 'fade-in' effect which, on my VL install, takes 15 to 30 seconds to complete its prettification job, instead of the two or three seconds it takes on other OS's.

I use iGoogle as my primary search page, so I hadn't seen the behavior you describe on the "classic" page. Went and checked it out, and while it took a while for the text to fade in on a couple of refreshes, it didn't affect the rest of the computer in any way. Checked it with both Firefox and Opera. No system slow down at all. This isn't on Standard, though. This is on SOHO 6 with KDE4.

What are your system specs and what else do you have running in the background? Right now, I have Opera and Firefox open, Pidgin and Amorak.

I'm running an Asus MoBo with a 2.2 GHz 64-bit dual-core Athlon. 4GB of memory, but the system reports 3GB because I haven't yet installed a bigmem kernel. nVidia dual-output video card with one VGA output and one DVI output, using the open-source nv driver.

The problem doesn't appear on the Debian install on the same machine, so I don't think it's a hardware issue.

I just timed the loading of the Google classic page. Loading it in Firefox in Gnome under Debian takes just over 2 seconds, while the same test in VL under Slackware takes 15 seconds.

I think I'll load VL on one of my spare boat anchor boxes and see if it behaves the same, but I probably won't be able to do that until next week. In the meantime I'll try installing Opera and/or Konqueror to see if the problem shows up there.

UPDATE: I just installed Opera, and I'm experiencing the same problem, except the dalay is now 35 seconds as opposed to 15 seconds in Firefox.

Ralph_Ellis: Thanks for asking - Opera takes more than twice as long as Firefox to load the page, but while it's doing so it merely brings my computer to its knees, whereas while Firefox is loading the page my computer is flat on its back with pupils dilated and unresponsive.

rbistolfi: Thanks for the suggestion - I'll try that next. In my experience with Ubuntu and Debian I found the FOSS driver to be better-behaved than the proprietary driver, but in this case I'll even try the nVidia driver.

The proprietary nVidia driver should be much more responsive than either the noveau or nv driver. Either use the one that comes with VL or downloads the latest version from the Nvidia website. The video response time should at least be significantly better.